Presents of Flesh Fish Stuffs hay and Oats The Starosties ought only to be given to old Officers who have serv'd long time in the Army and are as it were Super-annuated for the Polish Word Starosc signifies old Age and he who enjoys one of those Estates is call'd Starosta from Stary which signifies an Old Man There are Two sorts of Starosties some are empower'd to exercise a Jurisdiction thro' the whole extent of their Territory whereas there are others without any Jurisdiction The first are the most considerable tho' they are not always the Richest Each Starosta is oblig'd to give the fourth part of the Revenue of his Starostie to the Republick and no Man can possess Two of those who have Jurisdiction The King may bestow the Reversion of a Starostie upon the Starosta's Wife except in Rússia which is a Frontier Province for since a Starostie is a Government the Republick supposes that the Governor ought to reside upon the place but Polish Gentlemen may be made Governours of Frontier Places because the Republick relies more upon their Fidelity than upon that of Forreigners tho' they are sometimes deceiv'd in this Maxim For he who surrender'd the City of Caminiec to the Turks without making any Resistance was not only a Gentleman of Poland but even a Palatine As for the Salt-works of Poland the most considerable are those of Vieluczka and Boehinia about Five Leagues from Cracow which yields about 400000 Livres Yearly They were found out in the Year 1252. They resemble deep Mines dug in the Earth to which they descend by a hole like to that of a Quarry The Workmen who are employ'd in Digging out the Salt begin to enter the Pits at Midnight and those who go down first begin to come out about Noon because they must be let down and drawn up with a great Rope like that with which large Stones are rais'd up out of Quarries As they dig the Salt out of the Mines they must leave great Pillars from place to place to support the Earth and since these Vaulted Pits are all cover'd with Salt when one goes down into them he seems to be surrounded with a Thousand Crystals which reflect the Light of the Torches There are some parts of 'em dug so far that it would be dangerous to go into 'em because one might easily lose himself in these Labyrinths The Salt is taken out in large Columns which being loosen'd from the Mine are drawn by Horses just under the Mouth of the Pit and afterwards drawn up like Stones out of a Quarry The Horses continue always in those Subterranean Caverns but the Men come out every day and which is very remarkable there is a Spring of Sweet Water in the Salt-pits of which both the Men and Horses drink After the Salt is brought out of the Pits they carry those great Pieces or Columns through the whole Kingdom except Prussia where they only use French Salt Before the Polish Salt can be us'd it must be beaten to pieces and then ground in a Mill. Besides these Pits of Bochnia and Vieluczka there are other Salt-works at Halicz in Pokutia on the Neister at Kolomey in the same Province on the River Prut and at Pinsk a City of Lithuania in Polâ—sia and besides these there are some others which belong to private Men for there is an express Law that the Republick shall not pretend a Right to the Mines of Salt or of any Metals which are found in any Gentleman's Lands There is also White Salt made in many other places of Poland as in the Palatinat of Craeow between Oswiecin upon the Vistula and Mount Crapat But this Salt is for the King's use besides they make great quantities of Salt in Russia by Boiling Salt-water which costs 'em little because that Province is all cover'd with Woods There are also some Mines of Lead mixt with Silver in the Burroughs of Ilkusch Slankow Kranow and Nowoguiia which are in the Palatinat of Cracow and in that of Sandomir there is Salt-peter at Vieliczca there is also Vitriol found at Byecz and Quicksilver at Tustan in Pokutia towards the Mountains The Ecclesiastick Estates are the Benefices as Bishopricks Abbacy's Priory's Canonships Curacies and all the Lands that are possess'd by the Regular Clergy The Benefices are not so numerous as in France for there are but Sixteen Bishopricks and some Abbacy's But the Bishopricks are of a great extent and endow'd with large Revenues some of these Prelates having above 100000 Livers Yearly Rent The Patrimonial Estates belong properly to the Polanders whether the Right of Succession be by Purchase or Inheritance and consist in Houses Lands Towns Villages Lakes Mills Meadows and Woods but especially in Peasants for a Gentleman's Riches are valu'd by the Number of his Peasants every one of them being worth 100 Livres a Year to his Master These Peasants are Slaves and cannot possess any thing all that they heap together belongs to their Lord whom they cannot leave without his permission unless they turn Priests or Fryers But these miserable Wretches work so hard without intermission that they have no time to study in order to fit themseives for admittance among the Secular or Regular Clergy except only in the quality of Lay-Brothers which the Polish Gentlemen take also care to prevent by obliging them to Marry young that they may not be receiv'd into the Convents To settle a Peasant upon a Piece of Land or in a Village the Lord causes a Cottage of Wood to be built for him and gives him Two little Horses one Cow some Hens Geese and Rye to subsist upon for a Year In the mean time he appoints a certain Piece of Ground in the Village which the Peasant is oblig'd to Till for his Landlord and upon which he is to maintain himself for the future for all the Goods of the Village belong to the Lord. The settling of a Peasant costs a Gentleman nothing but the price which he pays for him Because the other Peasants of the Village build the House and furnish the Cattel Poultry and all that he gives to his new Subject who with his Wife and Children is oblig'd to work Four days in the Week for his Master and to spend the other Two days in Tilling the Ground which is given him for his Subsistance When Harvest comes all the Peasants of the Village go out together to cut down and gather in the Corn for their Lord who appoints certain Persons to Oversee their Work and to beat 'em when they are idle For the Punishment of the Peasants there is a sort of Pillory in every Village on which those Miserable Wretches are sometimes forc'd to stand a whole day One would think the Peasants in Poland should reckon themselves the most unhappy Creatures in the World to see themselves reduc'd to perpetual Slavery and oblig'd to Work continually without the prospect of one day of rest But they do not so much as know that there are
persons of all Ranks and Sexes into Slavery so that Thracia Scythia and almost all Asia was fill'd with Polish Slaves The Tartars are naturally so hardy that they swim over the Rivers in the Winter when there is no Ice which without doubt proceeds from the Mothers washing their Infants with cold Water They cross the great Rivers such as the Boristhenes after this manner each of them prepares several Faggots or Bundles of Rushes or Reeds which he ties to two Poles upon these he lays his Clothes Arms Saddle and all that he intends to carry along with him then he ties this little Bridge of Fagots to his Horse's Tail after which with one hand he takes hold of the Horse's Main and whips him with the other and in this equipage passes the River stark naked When the Tartars take the Field to make Incursions they agree beforehand that when they are pressed too hard by the Enemy they shall divide into several Parties each of which shall retire by a different way and that they shall afterwards rendezvous at a certain place They take these Precautions that those who pursue them seeing many tracts of Horses feet may not know which to follow They are so afraid of being killed or taken Prisoners that when they are press'd by their enemies they fly with such an amazing swiftness that having tir'd one of their Horses they leap from him at a full gallop upon the back of another without dismounting and if they find that they are still hotly pursu'd they first throw away their Sabre then their Bow and their Arrows and at last without alighting from their Horse they cut the Girths and drop the Saddle and by that means ease their Horses If in their flight they meet with a Defile or narrow passage they gallop thro' it with so much precipitation and disorder that they ride over one-another without minding those who command them no not the Cham who is their Prince which is an evident sign that they are all extreamly apprehensive of being kill'd or taken Prisoners The Cham who at present governs the Crim Tartars is of the Family of Gilerey and both he and all those of his Race are cloath'd in Silk the Officers in Cloth and the rest in Sheep-skins with the woolly sides next their skin in the Winter but they turn 'em outwards in the Summer or in rainy weather They wear no Turbans as the Turks and Persians do but Caps like the Polanders their Arms are a Sabre with a Bow and Arrows every one of them carries a Knife and an Awl to make Whips and Straps which serve to tye the Slaves whom they take in their Incursions they are extreamly afraid of Fire-arms their greatest strength consists in the swiftness of their Horses which are very ugly but never tire and each Tartar has many of them which he leads along with him and they know their Masters so well that they follow 'em when they fly without losing 'em or running away from ' em Their usual Food is Horse-flesh which they like so well that they prefer it before Beef I have seen some Tartars who were Prisoners in Poland eat Horses that dy'd of any Distemper and even devour the Head Feet and Intrails None but the Rich eat Bread and the rest live upon Milk Millet and Turkey Wheat They are very lazy when they are in their own Country but are extreamly laborious and vigilant when they go abroad upon an Expedition The Poor kill no Horses to eat unless they be sick and when they kill one they give part of it to their Neighbors they make a sort of Pudding with the Blood of the Horse they kill and the Meal of Turkey Wheat or Millet which they reckon to be a very delicious Ragou They eat but little Salt because they believe it to be bad for the eyes and since they are Mahometans 't would be needless to add that they eat no Bacon These are some of the most remarkable Observations I made during my abode in Crim Tartary The Tartars are divided into Hords or Cantons almost like the Switzers These Hords are unequal in bigness number and strength the greatest of them all is that betwixt Kilia and Bialogrod which are two Towns one at the mouth of the Niester and the other at the mouth of the Danube Next to this the most considerable is that of Oczacow a City and Fort which the Turks call Dziarerimenda at the mouth of the Boristhenes the smallest of all the Hords is that of Kipozako which takes its Name from the River that runs by the Town The Cham of the Tartars never goes out of the Crim to take the Field unless all the Hords march with him There are also some Mahometan Tartars subject to Poland who live in Lithuania near Vilna where they possess Lands and work as the other Lithuanians do they were establish'd there by Vitold Uncle to King Vladislaus Jagellon after he had expel'd 'em out of the Lower Volhinia King Jagellon had also Tartars in his Army when he routed the Teutonic Knights in the Year 1386. After this short account of the Tartars I proceed to take a view of the Cossacks and first of Vkrania CHAP. V. Of Ukrania and the Cossacks with an Account of the Lithuanians and Livonians LOwer Volhinia and Lower Podolia are both comprehended under the name of Vkrania which in the Sclavonish tongue signifies a Frontier because those Provinces are the Frontiers of the Turks and Tartars who are the most terrible Enemies of Poland This is a very large Country containing above 300 miles from East to West and above 180 from North to South Kiovia scituated on the Boristhenes is the capital City and was once one of the largest Towns in Europe but it has been so often pillag'd and harass'd by the Tartars that there is nothing to be seen in it at present but ruin'd Houses and Cottages with a Fort in which the Muscovites keep Garrison The Boristhenes which is one of the greatest Rivers in Europe runs thro' the middle of the Country and receives all the other Rivers that water it The first Rendezvous of the Cossacks who were originally Russian Peasants was in the Isles of the Boristhenes especially that of Tamahoâ—ka from whence they spread themselves thro' all Vkrania betwixt the Cities of Kiovia and Czyrkassy At that time they liv'd only by Hunting and Fishing they are call'd the Zaporovian Cossacks because they inhabit along the Boristhenes to distinguish them from those who live on the Banks of the Tanais or Don which empties itself into the Palus Meotis Stephen Battori King of Poland was the first who brought the Cossacks under Military Discipline and appointed them the City of Trethymirow upon the Boristhenes about twelve leagues below Kiowia for their place of rendezvous for heretofore they had no Leaders and were so far from observing Discipline that they march'd rather like Freebooters than Soldiers But from that time they began to make
not be Crown'd and that the austrian Faction oppos'd it both because she was a French-woman born and because she was but a private Gentlewoman But the event show'd the contrary for she was Crown'd at Cracow with her Husband without the least opposition But if a Queen of Poland be not a Catholick she cannot be Crown'd as it happen'd to Helen the Wife of Alexander I. and Daughter to the Duke of Muscovy who being of the Greek Church and refusing to imbrace the Roman Catholick Faith the Republick would never consent that She should be Crown'd Tho' according to the Constitutions of the Republick and the Ancient Laws of the Kingdom both the Kings and Queens of Poland ought to be Crown'd at Cracow we find that this Ceremony has been sometimes perform'd in other places For Queen Cecilia the Wife of Vladislaus IV. was Crown'd at Warsaw in the Year 1637. And tho' there was a Law made the next Year that the Queens should always be Crown'd at Warsaw Anno 1670. 'T is true this was done with the consent of all the Orders of the Republick When the Queen is Crown'd the King must desire it of the Republick he must be present at the Ceremony himself Conduct her to the Church and present her to the Archbishop of Gnesna or to the Bishop who is to perform the Ceremony The Archbishop Anoints Her with the Consecrated Oil and puts the Crown upon Her head the Scepter into Her right hand and the Globe of Gold into Her left The Queens of Poland have no Officers but a Marshal and a Chancellor neither of whom are Senators but only Judges of the Differences that happen among her Domesticks They Answer the Harangues that are made to the Queen when an Ambassador makes her a Compliment in His Master's Name or when a Present is made to her at the Marriage of a Maid of Honour The King furnishes the Queen with Money to defray the Charge of her Houshold But after the King's death she must maintain her self and all her Retinue with the Revenue which the King bestows upon her with the Consent of the Republick both for her Dowry and for her Marriage-Present These Revenues are call'd the Reformation and consist of the Reversion of a certain number of Starosties which she cannot enjoy till they become vacant by the Death of the present Possessors So that a Queen of Poland is frequently kept from her Estate till she be just ready to leave it For sometimes those who possess the Starosties that are in her Reformation out-live her But if the King die before the Queen's Reformation be settled upon her the Republick allows her a Yearly Pension out of the crown-Crown-Lands as they did to Queen Eleanor in the Year 1674 after the Election of King John for they were so king to that Princess as to give her a Yearly Pension of 120000 Livres by an express Article which was afterwards inserted in the Pacta Conventa but she chose rather to quit both that and the Kingdom than to see a French Gentlewoman succeed a Princess of the House of Austria CHAP. XXI Of the Polish Army THERE is so little Order or Discipline observ'd in the Polish Army that the Country is frequently harrass'd by those who are paid to defend it and the Republick is oblig'd to Raise New Troops every Year At the first there were few Cities in Poland But when the Inhabitants grew more Industrious in Cultivating the Ground they were perpetually molested by their Neighbours who by frequent Inrodes endeavour'd to deprive 'em of the fruit of their Labours In order to oppose these Invasions the Kings caused Castles and Fortresses to be built in the Cities which always subsisted so long as they were Protected by the Royal Authority and defended by good Officers and Disciplin'd Soldiers But since those Forts were neglected several Lords have endeavour'd to usurp the Posession of 'em that they might extend their Dominion over the Cities and oppress the Burghers as they do the Peasants in the Villages Those whom the Kings entrusted with the Government of those Places did not employ the Revenues that were annex'd to 'em in Repairing the Walls and Fortificatious whence it comes that all their Cities are open and that the Soldiers who are put there into Winter Quarters may go out when they please and Ravage the Country For when a Regiment is to be sent from one end of the Kingdom to the other the Commander is only Order'd to set out and to go to the place appointed without mentioning either the time or the places through which he is to March or the Cities where he is to Quarter so that he may run through the Whole Kingdom and so sometimes spend a Moneth or six Weeks in Marching to a place which he might have reach'd in Eight days 'T is plain that these disorderly Marches must of necessity waste and destroy the Cities and Villages through which the Soldiers pass Nor is the Law able to to remedy such an insupportable Grievance because it is not the Custom in Poland to establish Magazins and Store-houses in any place The Gentlemen who go to the Army spend the best part of their Estates in furnishing themselves with Magnificent Arms fine Horses and rich Apparel maintaining a Numerous Train of Servants Their Estates alone are not sufficient to defray so vast a Charge and besides they receive no Pay for a considerable time after they enter into the Service so that they are in a manner constrain'd to Oppress the People that they may be able to support their extravagant vanity Some who are naturally of a less violent temper endeavour to excuse a Fault which they are forc'd to acknowledge by laying the blame upon the Court pretending that the King bestows the Royal Gifts of the Republick and the Offices and Dignities upon the Courtiers or other great Lords who either have no need of 'em or do not deserve 'em in stead of giving 'em to those who have done good Service in the Army where they have spent their Estates and expos'd their Lives for the defence of their Country Others accuse those who are entrusted with the management of the Finances who make 'em wait very long for their Pay and even then oblige 'em to quit part of it that they may procure the rest These Grievances exasperate their Minds and frequently occasion great Complaints in the Diet. When they Levy Soldiers in Foland the Captains exact Contributions on those Places where they Raise their Men and give very little to the Soldiers Retaining the Money they Receive on the Publick Account always finding some unjust pretext to Defraud the Soldiers of their Pay who are consequently under a strong Temptation to Rob and Pillage the Country the Officers not daring to Restrain a Disorder which is occasion'd by themselves To put a stop to these Irregularities it has been frequently Propos'd to the Diets by some Wise and Considering Persons to keep the Soldiers always
Templo plusquam Sacerdos In Re-publica plusquam Rex In Sententia dicenda plusquam Senator In Judicio plusquam Jurisconsultus In Exercitu plusquam Imperator In Acie plusquam Miles In adversis perferendis injuriisque condonandis plusquam Vir. In publica libertate tuenda plusquam Civis In Amicitia colenda plusquam Amicus In Convictu plusquam familiaris In Venatione ferisque domandis plusquam Leo. In tota reliqua Vita plusquam Philosophus Sigismund III. An. D. 1587. The Son of John King of Sweden by Catherine Daughter to Sigismund I. having renounc'd the Protestant Religion was chosen King of Poland by the unanimous consent of the Nobility He order'd Maximilian Arch-Duke of Austria whom the Crown-General Zamoski had defeated to be bound with Golden-fetters and carry'd to Zamosch where he kept him Prisoner two years Vladislaus VI or IV. The Son and Successor of Sigismund He had the courage to encounter an Army of 200000 Muscovites with 50000 Men and routed 'em entirely After this Memorable and Important Victory he took the City of Moscow and return'd in Triumph to Warsaw with Two Czars the Patriarch the Crown and 500 Wagons loaden with rich Spoils He defeated the Grand Signior Osman and pursu'd him almost as far as Constantinople Afterwards he was so animated with an Imprudent Zeal for the propagating of Religion that he resolv'd to undertake an Expedition to the holy-Holy-Land and dy'd for grief because the Polanders refus'd to raise Subsidies to enable him to prosecute that design After his Death the Kingdom was harrass'd by the Cossacks who were principally incens'd against the Jews and Jesuits John Casimit Who was formerly a Jesuit and a Cardinal was Elected King after his Brother Vladislaus and obtain'd a Dispensation from the Pope to Marry his Widow He defeated the Cossacks in a doubtful and uncertain Battle near Beresteczko in Russia Having by this Victory curb'd that Factious People and secur'd the Quiet of the Kindom he began to indulge himself in his Pleasures He Banish'd the Vice-Chancellor of the Crown after he had Debauch'd his Wife and that Injur'd Officer returning to Sweden perswaded that Prince to Invade Poland which he did with so great success that Casimir was entirely dispossest But he was afterwards recall'd even by those who joyn'd with his Enemies and after several Battles oblig'd the King of Sweden to make a Peace At last by the perswasion of his Queen that he might make way for the Prince of Conde to Succeed him he Abdicated the Government and retir'd to France where he was made Abbot of St. Germans Michael After Casimir's Abdication several Intrigues were made by the Dukes of Lorrain Newburg and York and the Prince of Conde who stood Candidates for the Crown At that time the Duke of York profest the Protestant Religion but when that was objected against him by the Nobility a certain Jesuite who was employ'd to manage his Interest declar'd openly before the Senate of Poland that he was a Roman-Catholick At last contrary to all expectation the Election was determin'd in favour of Michael Coributh Wisnowieczki who was descended of the most ancient Family of the Dukes of Lithuania This Prince dy'd at Warsaw about a year after his Coronation and 't is commonly believ'd that he was Poyson'd by a certain Priest 'T was observ'd that when the General Sobieski afterwards Chosen King came to see him in his Coffin the Nose of the Deceast Prince began to Bleed assoon as he enter'd the Room John Sobieski This Prince was descended of a very Noble and Ancient Family in the Palatinate of Lublin He was the younger Son of Sobieski Castellan of Cracow by a Daughter of Stanislas Zolkiewski Great General of the Crown He was made Great Marshal of the Crown August 24. 1665 Great General of the Kingdom in 1667 and Great Master of the King's Houshold Palatin of Cracow c. He retook 60 Cities from the Rebel Cossacks in Vkrania In 1667. he defended Podhais against the Tartars and two years after took from them and the Cossacks the whole Palatinate of Braclaw in Lower Podolia In 1673. he obtain'd a Memorable Victory over the Turks at Choczim on the Niester where 8000 Janizaries and 20000 Spahis were kill'd He was Chosen King of Poland May 10th 1674 and made two Campaigns against the Turks before he was Crown'd But that which will for ever perpetuate the Honour of his Memory is that Glorious and Important Action which he perform'd in 1683 when he Rais'd the Siege of Vienna The following Panegyrical Character of that Prince was made upon that occasion JOANNI III. DOminatione Polonico Lithuanico Liberatione Austriaco Pannonico Profligatione Ottomanico Thracio Religione Christianissimo Pietate Catholico Zelo Apostolico Inter Duces pugnacissimo Inter Reges sapientissimo Inter Imperatores Augustissimo Cui Gloria militaris Regna peperit Clementia stabilivit Virtus perennavit Qui Raro pietatis constantiae exemplo propria deserens aliena defendens Docuit quo pacto sacra foederis jura Jungantur custodiantur compleantur Ottomani am lunam fulgentissimo crucis vexillo eternam Eclypsim minitantem Adeo prospere feliciterque finibus extirpavit Vt unum Idemque fuerit Venisse Vidisse Vicisse Igitur Inter innumeros Christiani Orbis plausus Inter vindicatam Religionis Imperii laetitiam Inter cruentae lunae extrema deliquia Agnoscant Praesentes Credant Posteri Non tantum enascenti Evangelio quo propagaretur Sed adulto ne profligaretur Vtrobique a Deo missum fuisse hominem Cui Nomen erat JOANNES He Marry'd the Lady Mary de la Grange the Daughter of the Marquiss now Cardinal d' Arquien and Widow of Prince Zamoiski He died June 17. 1696 being seiz'd with a Fit of an Apoplexy after a long Indisposition SOME REMARKS UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF POLAND 'T IS Worthy Observation as to the Election of a King in Poland that whereas the Nobility and Gentry are the Keepers Preservers and Defendors of the Liberty and Laws of the Country Now for fear of a Change in the Government as has happen'd in France Denmark Swedeland and Italy where the Nobility having been corrupted and brib'd with Honours and other Rewards by the Kings have by degrees remitted from time to time some of their Rights and Immunities ill at last they have fool'd themselves out of their Freedom into a Slavish Dependence on the Court the Republick of Poland warn'd by those Examples to avoid such a Fate has made a Law That the Election of a King must be Nemine Contradicente An Instance of this may be given in the Election of King Vladislaus the Fourth a most Warlike Prince who was Chosen King of Poland in consideration of the great Services he had done the Common-wealth with the unanimous Consent of the Whole Nobility excepting only one Deputy who made a Solemn Protestation against the Votes of all the Diet yet the said Prince could not be Crown'd without the Consent of
put the Standard which he had Illegally set put Their Articles of Confederacy were torn to pieces which being done Te Deum was Sung and the Day concluded with a Noble Feast at the Crown General 's Palace where Baronowsky and other Officers were Nobly Entertained Though the Emperour had hitherto appeared in the Interest of Prince James the Queen of Poland thought to Write in his behalf both to His Imperial Majesty and to the Empress and much about that time a Letter pretended to have been Written by the Abbot of Polignac to Monsieur Chateauneuf Ambassador of France to Constantinople was dispatched through Poland and did the French a great prejudice This Letter was Written in the Year 1695 and Intercepted by a Party of Germans so that it was brought to the Emperour who thought fit to Communicate it to the Senate The Abbot giving an Account in the Letter of the Ill Condition of the Affairs of Poland tells Monsieur Chateauneuf That the Turks had no reason to be afraid of them and quit their Enterprises against Hungary to oppose a People who saith he can do them no harm because of their Divisions And it contains some odd Reflections on the King and the Crown-General as if they had known and been glad that he should serve the Turks as Spy This Letter did so highly incense the Poles that it was very much insisted that the Abbot of Polignac might be compelled to declare whether he had done it by his Masters Order or of his own head and that if he did it by Order of the King of France he might be Expelled the Kingdom as the Minister of a Prince Enemy of the Republick but that if it did appear that he had committed that Villanous Fact without any Orders that such a Punishment might be Inflicted upon him as the Laws Ordained for the Punishment of Traytors The French Ambassadour deny'd the Fact and prepared a Writing to disown the Letter and endeavour to prove that it was Forg'd by the Enemies of France but as his Party grew so strong as to make him fear nothing as to the Consequences of the Impressions that Letter might have wrought upon the Poles his Apology was never Publish'd which Silence has Corroborated all the Proofs the Imperialists Alledg'd to Convince the Senate of its being Genuine The Abbot of Chateauneuf's Brother to the French Ambassador at Constantinople arriv'd about that time at Warsaw being sent by the French King to assist Polignac in his Negotiation and temper a little his Eagerness and Passion which had been like to prejudice the Affairs of his Master This New Minister confirmed the Promise Polignac had made to the Poles and added some others in relation to an Advantageous Peace with the Turks The time of the Election approaching the particular Dyets were held in the usual Form and broke up with more Tranquility than was expected The Nobility of the Palatinate of Cracow made an Act of Association whereby they Promised upon Oath mutually to assist each other and not to suffer themselves to be Corrupted by any Party but on the contrary to Procure and Promote the Common Good of their Country with Unanimity and Fidelity The number of the Competitors was not much increas'd for besides these I have already mention'd no other had yet appear'd except the Prince of Newburg but few days before the Great Dyet began all the World was Surprised to see Prince Livio Odeschalchi Nephew to Innocent XI putting in for the Crown for no body thought he carry'd his Pretensions so high However he was like to outbid all the rest And that the Reader may know upon what account it will not be improper to set at large in this place the Proposals he made to the Republick which are as follows SEeing the Magnanimous Prince Odeschalchi Nephew to Pope Innocent XI of Glorious Memory is one of those that have conceived an Extraordinary Tenderness and Affection for the Most Serene Republick as well out of his own Inclination as an Imitatation of his Unckle he makes bold to be one of the Candidates at the New Election of a King Not that he has any Design to Cross the Royal Princes of Poland no less Illustrious for their own Vertues than for the Heroick Atchievements of their Deceased Glorious Father or to oppose those other Pretenders to the Crown whether Natives or Forreigners But if it should come to pass through any unfortunate event that none of those Competitors should be Advanced to the Polish Throne and that the Magnanimous Prince Odeschalchi should be Preferr'd before all the rest he would willingly submit his Person and all that he has in the World to the Most Serene Republick And moreover seeing he should not be Supported by any Forreign Prince he should be Solely Beholding for his Election to the Good Will of the Illustrious Polish Nation and will Bind himself as a Testimony of his Acknowledgment to the following Conditions I. That he will Maintain the Laws and Statutes of the Most Serene Republick as also the Conditions that shall be Agreed upon II. That he will in no Manner whatsoever Violate the Precious Liberty of the Polish Nation but rather defend it upon all occasions with the Expence of his own Blood III. That for the Payment of the Souldiers he will Supply the Republick with Eight Millions of Florins in Polish Money before he set his Foot in the Kingdom IV. That he will Redeem Elbing from the Elector of Brandenburgh by Reimbursing the Money for which it was formerly Mortgaged to him V. That he will use his best Endeavours to recover Caminiek and other Territories the Turks and Tartars have Usurp'd from the Most Serene Republick VI. That to Discharge the Republick from the Assignments that are usually allotted to the New Queen he will never Marry or if the Nation desires he should he will accept of such a Wife as they shall think fit VII That he will take Care for the future the Army shall be Regularly Paid VIII That he will at his own Charges Found a Colledge at Rome for 25 Polish Gentlemen and as many Lithuanians with a sufficient Revenue for their Maintenance according to their Quality IX That if he comes to Die without Issue the Republick shall be the Sole Heiress of all his Estate of Money and Lands as also of all his Rich and Costly Moveables X. For the Performance of all these Promises he is ready to ingage by an Authentick Act to the Most Serene Republick all his Hereditary Lands in the Milanese as also the Dukedoms of Ceri Bracciano and Palo the Marquisate of Roncofredi and the County of Montejano with all the Forts Arsenals and Brass Canon that are in those Places He will Ingage likewise all the Sums of Money which he has at Interest at Rome Naples Venice Genoa Madrid Amsterdam c. XI Lastly The Envoy of Prince Odeschalchi to the Dyet is ready to make it Evident to whosoever shall desire it by
Controversies by the way of Arms in publick This was their way of Living then which is not yet altogether abolished in some places But in Process of Time Princes and then Kings were brought in among them Yet with a more limited authority than in other Countries and after an Elective manner As for Laws King Casimir introduced the Teutonick there in the Year 1368. and Established a Soveraign Court of Justice at the Castle of Cracow as in the middle of his Kingdom for Poland was then of a far greater Extent than 't is now so that the City of Cracow was in a manner in the middle of that Great State whereas at this time it may be almost call'd a Frontier Town since it is but twelve Leagues from thence to Silesia which was then a province of Poland and now belongs to the Emperor of Germany on the account of the Kingdom of Bohemia The Kings us'd always to have a right to make the People take up arms as often as it was necessary and every Man was excited to give some proofs of Valor because there was no other means to rise and obtain the Right of Nobility neither was there any other Reward to be expected As for those who were not stirr'd up by the desire of honour and advancement the fear of punishment us'd to prevail with them for those who did not obey the King's Orders were either whipt with Cords or cudgel'd into fighting which convinc'd the rest of the Necessity of taking arms with all speed In those days it was not the Custom to levy Military Men with Mony in Poland for there was none at that time in that Kingdom where they then till'd the Ground barely to supply the Necessity of the Inhabitants and had no thoughts of exporting Corn out of the Country nor of importing those things that serve only for Superfluity and good Chear The Soyl which is fruitful of it self suppli'd every one with a sufficient subsistance so that the Peasants were not compell'd to work hard for if they wrought never so little they did enough for their Masters and for themselves But as soon as the Polish Gentlemen began to exchange Corn for foreign Merchandises and Riches and Luxury were brought into that Kingdom the Military Vigour began to abate and the Slavery of the Peasants became intollerable Poland is now properly a Republick and 't is by that Name that the Polanders call it looking upon their King as being no more than the head of their Common wealth This makes them lessen the King's authority more and more when a new one is to be elected still enlarging their own privileges and taking care that his prerogative may not grow too great They are indeed so jealous of their Liberty and so afraid of losing it that they will not have any fortyfied towns upon the Frontiers for fear the King should put a Garrison in it and so should make himself absolute Master of all the Nobility by degrees That sentiment is so strongly rooted within their hearts that they prepossess their Children with it betimes making them believe that their native Freedom would soon be lost if ever they suffered any town to be fortyfied upon the Frontiers But they do not consider that while they design to shun a great Evil they fall into another that is worse since their Neighbours who are all of them their Enemies finding the Country open easily invade it and from time to time make themselves Masters of some part of their state before the Polanders can be in a Condition to oppose their Irruptions as the Swedes did which I have already mentioned The Republick of Poland is composed of three Orders the King the Senate and the Nobility or Gentry Thus all the Rites and Privileges are joyntly holden by those three Orders insomuch that there can be no Laws made nor abrogated no War levied no alliance concluded with Foreigners no Impositions laid 〈◊〉 nor no money coyned but with the joynt Consent of the whole Republick or of the Senators that are deputed for that end therefore some of these are always near the King's person in order to preserve the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom CHAP. VII Of the KING THe King disposes of all the consistorial Benefices and of many others as also of all the Offices and Places of profit in the Gift of the Crown for he cannot keep them to himself and is obliged to bestow them upon the Gentlemen of Poland and not upon Foreigners tho' they have never so much personal Merit or have done never so much service to the Republick for the Polanders are so jealous of Foreigners that they cannot endure that the King should make them any connderable Gratification As for Instance In the Reign of King Stephen Batori the Hungarians had been very serviceable to the Republick in the War against the Muscovites Now that brave Prince who had invited many of 'em into Poland to repell that encroaching Enemy with their Assistance thought himself obliged to bestow some suitable Rewards upon them but he had no sooner done this but that several of the Great Men of Poland were strangely exasperated particularly the Great General who resented it so highly that he resigned his place upon that Account Many others also murmur'd openly against that Prince which usage may seem the more ungenerous and ungrateful seeing they were so much obliged to that Warlike King who had atcheived braver and greater Actions for Poland than any of his Predecessors Thus all that a Foreigner can pretend to in that Republick can amount to no more than the obtaining the Command of a Regiment of Foot or the Grant of some little Royal Gift Besides that he may be duely qualified for the possession of it he must first be made a Gentleman of Poland for otherwise the King cannot bestow any such thing upon him however there are some little Royal Gifts and Benefices which a man may hold without being a Gentleman of Poland But in the main 't is so certain that there is a necessity of being made a Gentleman of Poland to possess an Estate or Place of considerable Profit in that Kingdom that King Stephen Battori whom we just now mentioned thought fit to procure the Indigenate that is the right of Nobility to two of his Kins-men at the Sessions of the Diet which he had summon'd to meet the 13 of December 1386. For as he had no Children he was desirous of advancing those of his Brother and was perswaded that this Naturalization would enable him to prefer them to something more considerable But that Great Prince was prevented by Death in the fifty fourth year of his age after he had reigned ten years One would be apt to think that this mighty Power which the King of Poland has to dispose of so many places of Trust and Profit of so many Lands by Royal Tenure and of so many Benefices must need gain him the Love and Affection of those on whom they
are conserr'd and engage them to follow the Dictates of his Will with a blind Obedience for there are few Kings in Europe that have more favours to bestow than that Prince neither can any other in less time make a very rich Lord of a poor Gentleman But it happens quite otherwise For not to speak of the Temper of the Polanders who naturally are none of the most grateful they know too well that their King cannot dispose of any of those Preferments to any others but only to themselves and they believe that when he grants them any such Places Revenues or Benefices he only gives 'em back what belongs to them by their native Right and that thus his grant is not so much an act of Grace as a piece of Justice The rather because as I have already said the King neither ought nor can keep or convert any of those Revenues to his own particular Use or Benefit nor can he suppress any Place of Trust or Profit in the Kingdom Besides the Nobility would not easily suffer him to give the least thing to Foreigners for that powerful Body is so jealous of its Liberty that it will not give the King the least Opportunity of encreasing his Prerogative and Authority by gaining creatures that would solely depend upon him The King does not succeed his Predecessor no not tho' he were his Father But he is freely elected by the Nobility who meet by their Deputies in a General Diet which always ought to be kept near Warsaw However though a King's Children have no manner of right in the Republick yet is there always a due regard had to them Insomuch that 't is commonly one of them upon whom the Election falls after the decease of his Father But nevertheless this is always done with the same Ceremonies and still observing the same rules as if a Stranger were elected the Polanders taking great care to preserve their right of not chusing one of the deceased King's Family believing that their Happiness lies chiefly in the Power which they have to make choise of what Prince they please They have not only a due regard to the Sons of their Kings their Consideration extends also to their Daughters and even to their Widdows of which I will here relate some Examples Lewis King of Poland and Hungary being dead the 13 of December 1382 and having left no other Issue than two Daughters the Republick met at Radom in order to proceed to the Election of a New King Part of the Senators inclin'd to chuse Sigismund Marquess of Brandenburg who had wedded the eldest of those two Princesses The other part were for Hedwige who was the youngest and not yet of age to be married Thus after many Consultations it was resolved at last in the Diet that was kept at Vielicza that some Deputies should be sent by the Republick to Queen Elizabeth who was then in Hungary with the Princess Hedwige her Daughter to entreat her to send that Lady into Poland and inform her that the Senate had resolved to crown her Queen and to elect a Prince that would be in a condition to marry her Queen Elizabeth who had no mind that this Princess should marry so young and besides that had a Design to wed her to the Duke of Austria to whom she had been betroth'd in King Lewis her Father's life time sent to acquaint the Diet which was then held at Seradia that she would send the Princess Hedwige into Poland at the following Easter but that she desired that she might return after that into Hungary to remain with her the space of three years till she were of age to be married The Senators of Poland having receiv'd this answer did not think fit to proceed to the Election of a King till the Arrival of the Princess according to the promise of the Queen her Mother But finding that she had not sent her into Poland at the time appointed the Senate did a second time depute some of the Nobility to let the Queen know that tho' the Affairs of the Republick of Poland were in such a condition as highly required the presence of a King yet they were contented to stay for the Princess till the Month of November 1383. Now the Queen having neglected to send her Daughter Hedwige that second time the Polanders sent her some Deputies a third time about the beginning of the following year But Queen Elizabeth having also broke her word to them that time the Senate being met at Radom sent one single Deputy to acquaint her that it had been resolv'd in the Diet not to send any more to her and that if she had a mind that her daughter Hedwige should been Queen they would still wait for her till the 8 of May but that if after that time she did not appear the Republick would proceed according as might be thought most adviseable in the pressing necessity which they laboured under for want of a King The Queen having heard the Senate's final resolution instead of sending her Daughter Hedwige into Poland advis'd her Son-in-Law Sigismund to go thither with some Forces to govern the Republick till her Daughter Hedwige were grown up But as soon as the Polanders heard of Sigsmund's Approach they rais'd some men with all speed to oppose that Prince whom they particularly hated At the same time they sent to let him know that if he presumed to enter Poland they would declare themselves his open Enemies this obliged him to go back and send to desire them to stay till the Whitsuntide following for the Princess Hedwige's Coming Accordingly they staid and not only till then but also till the month of October after that at which time she arriv'd at Cracow where immediately she was crown'd Queen of Poland on St. Hedwige of Lignitz's Day I thought fit to relate this passage to de nonstrate that the Poles have no common Regard to the royal progeny nor do I think that any thing can illustrate that Respect more than the patience with which they waited and that too at a time while they had so much need of Electing a King For the Kingdom was then disturb'd not only by the Duke of Masovia who having a considerable party in the Republick endeavour'd to be made King of Poland as being one of the royal Family of Casimir the Great but the Lithuanians and the Russians also were not a little troublesome and there were then many Roberies Plunderings and strange disorders committed every where with Impunity because the Kingdom was destitute of a Head When Hedwige had been crowned and the Republick was studying how to get her a proper Husband Jagello Duke of Lithuania sent his two Brothers to her with very considerable Presents and at the same time offered to renounce his idolatrous Worship and turn Christian as also to endeavour to make his Subjects do the same and to unite his Dutchy to the Crown of Poland for the future and present the Republick with two